There are certain situations where the deceased’s wishes may not be followed, and there may be a need for executing a deceased estate. Such situations are: when there is no will or if the choice has been completed, but the beneficiaries do not accept it or do not agree to it. There are also situations where the deceased estate does not name a trust or devise instructing an executor. In such a case, there is a need for another person to act on behalf of the estate.
The procedure involved in executing a deceased estate is by following the guidelines that are found in customary law. One needs to understand that executing an estate does not follow the same procedure as adjudicating a will under traditional law. For the same reason, one cannot make changes to the title or devise while the estate is being judged. In cases where there is no will or no trust or other specific instructions for the distribution of assets, the procedure followed is the same as with the normal process of adjudicating choices under customary law.
There is a difference between adjudicating wills and executing a deceased estate. Wills is the power of the person to determine how the property will be distributed after his death. Executing a deceased estate will change the power of the person who has died to one who has power over the assets. Once the power is transferred, there will be no power left over the assets except for the obligation imposed upon the person who has died to transfer the support to the person specified in the Will.
Often a person will specify who should be made responsible for distributing the assets after his death. This could be anyone, such as a trustee or a nominee. One can also specify how the money from the deceased estates should be dispersed — it can either be equally divided among the beneficiaries, or one may have more wealth than others and be entitled to a more significant share. Another thing that can happen is that the person designated to receive the distribution may also name an alternate as trustee to handle the distribution of the deceased estates. Under these scenarios, the probate court may appoint a replacement to administer the deceased estates.
The person who is designated as the executor must be someone close to the deceased estate. This can be a spouse, a parent, or a child. A person may also serve as the executor if he or she is a relative. He or she is responsible for the management of the assets after designation as the executor. If there are many beneficiaries of the deceased estate, then appointing too many executors would mean confusion. It is best to have just one or two people to handle the affairs of the deceased estate.